Ugly Duckling

Why do I want to study psychology? Because I believe that one of the most important understandings you can have is an understanding of self. Each of us is different and a unique set of strengths and weaknesses; but each of us is also part of the human race and that gives us all a set of collective strengths and weaknesses. Do you know what those are? I’m discovering more every day now, because of my reading and I’ve come to realise that I truly don’t understand myself; but I can.

Psychologist in the last couple of decades have been researching amazing subjects, from how words influence behaviour subconsciously (which is called priming) to our inability to actually recall emotion associated with an experience; with the current emotional state instead making you reinterpret the past experience. Then there’s the studies that have looked into how our visual picture is formed and how many assumptions we must make just to be able to see (it’s by manipulating those assumptions that we can see optical illusions). And the research that discovered that emotions are not just mental, but also physical (as in the way you carry your body influences your mood and not just the other way around).

And you know what the cool thing is? If I get in to the Social Psychology Research Masters I’ll get to add to all that great stuff out there. I’ll get to find out how we’re put together.

From my letter of motivation:
“I’ve become fascinated by people. This wasn’t always the case. For the longest time I was far more interested in thoughts than in the people that had them. That changed when I read about Antonio Damásio’s research in which he suggests that emotions are a fundamental part of every decision. Suddenly my entire world image flip[ed] – I realised that thoughts can’t be considered separately from the people that have them.”

(Notice the square brackets above. I added this just now because I made a mistake in the original letter and sent it with without the ‘ed’. I’m kicking myself)

I’ve always felt that I had to add something to the world. It’s been a driving force inside me for as long as I can remember. I think that over the next two years I can add something. That fills me with a warm feeling inside.

I better get back to my paper. I still have to make sure they take me.

Is this one of those ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch’ moments?